Unreasonable Impact 2016

Picture a ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ for entrepreneurs! We are thrilled to have been selected from just a handful of entrepreneurs to participate in Unreasonable Impact 2016! Unreasonable Impact have partnered with Barclays to deliver a vibrant R&D engine, providing entrepreneurs with resources, mentorship, and a global network of support needed to rapidly create jobs and address key global issues.

Companies chosen are positioned to create 500+ jobs each over the next five years and have values based on global issues. At Growing Underground we are sustainably feeding the city from within the city and contributing to our community through food, jobs and education.

Our co-founder Steven is representing over at the Unreasonable Impact UK intensive two-week accelerator programme. Located at a rather beautiful country estate, the days are long from 7am to almost 1am but totally invigorating and inspiring! The entrepreneurs are being well fed and looked after and are being led through a labyrinth of opportunity allowing their businesses to propel.

And in case you’re wondering why ‘Unreasonable’? Well the name is based on a quotation by George Bernard Shaw:

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man [and woman].” Plus, it describes exactly the kind of entrepreneur we are looking for: someone who is willing to ignore the skeptics, to persist through failure, and do whatever it takes to change the world for the better. Unreasonable Institute

Inspirational mentors blowing the entrepreneurs minds include; George Kembel, co-founder of the Stanford d.school, Jane Davidson, Director of Inspire, University of Wales and Tom Chi, Rapid Prototype Genius and Former Lead at Google X.

The September 2016 programme marks the inaugural launch of the Unreasonable Impact movement worldwide. Successive programmes will be launched in the US and Asia creating a global network centered around scaling impact entrepreneurs as job creators.

We’re so excited of the opportunities the programme will open up for Growing Underground and its role in the future of food to sustain our growing global population, whilst providing jobs for our city. The other fantastic companies taking part in the programme are River Simple, Recycling Technologies, GrowUp, Exergyn, Elvis & Kresse, Desolenator, Bio-Carbon Engineering and Andiamo.